i plan on getting the 20GB version. this one comes with the dock. im not understanding what the dock is conversly ment for. i mean i understand its direct function... that which is stated on the site... but it seems some ascessories may only work with the dock or something. i am not clear on this.

A friend of mine who sell Apple products told me that the FM transmiter is not worth it, I mean, the signal is very weak. You would have to keep it no further than 2 feets from the radio (actually he told me one). But there is no other solution un less your stereo has a mini plug input.

hmm. while the itrip and other similar things do a reasonable job, i've found mine to be so much of a hassle that i rarely use it. it's simply not possible to pay that much attention to something while you're driving (or you shouldn't be trying, anyway!)

for example, in cities it can be very hard to find a clear enough frequency to get a good signal without static. then, once you've got it, you might (on a long drive) have to change two or three times - in australia, at least, lots of community small-town radio stations operate in those gaps down the bottom of the dial where the ipod would work best.

so then you have to stuff around and find a new place on the dial.

in cities it can simply be impossible to find a perfect frequency. i've found myself listening to static turned way up to catch a hint of a tune (in mono), just to get some use out of the thing. I'm not using an iTrip, by the way - I'm using the stupidly expensive device whose name i have totally forgotten. but people using the itrip have similar experiences.

but even if you decide that all's well in the car, as soon as you get into a proper listening environment (like a stereo in your house), the true compromise of the system becomes apparent.

i've been using minijack-rca plugs into my stereo, and that's a much better (and cheaper) option. in fact, i'm considering buying a car stereo with RCA inputs so that i can do the same thing in my car.

okay good. so im thinking of another way of doing this that would be more effective. judging from that last response im thinking about the rca jack option. in my car i have an alpine cd player. in the back i know i have an rca jack but im not sure if its being used or if there is another available... since i have a sub connected to it. so ill check into that. if you all can think of another way of making an ipod versitile like this please feel free to tell me. i just want to be able to get the most use out of my ipod you know... and i know using it in my car stereo system should be one of its uses. i just want to buy the right thing (whatever that is) for it when i purchase my ipod.

Originally posted by krossfyter in my car i have an alpine cd player. in the back i know i have an rca jack but im not sure if its being used or if there is another available... since i have a sub connected to it.

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What you probably have is an input for the CD changer. There is an adapter that you can buy from a mobile audio store that will plug into this and provide two RCA plugs for you to connect to. Then you can run an RCA cable under the dash and to your iPod.

That's what I have been doing, until two days ago someone ripped off my car stereo (a nice Alpine unit), yet left my iPod.

Originally posted by krossfyter but it seems some ascessories may only work with the dock or something. i am not clear on this.

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the newer iPods (which can be used with a dock) have a special 'dock connector' on the bottom. Some accessories plug directly into this port, so they won't run on older iPods. They don't actually require the dock itself...

Originally posted by aphexist What you probably have is an input for the CD changer. There is an adapter that you can buy from a mobile audio store that will plug into this and provide two RCA plugs for you to connect to. Then you can run an RCA cable under the dash and to your iPod.

That's what I have been doing, until two days ago someone ripped off my car stereo (a nice Alpine unit), yet left my iPod.

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sorry to hear about your alpine man.

so if indeed i do have this cd changer jack... which now that you mention it sounds like what it is... then i would have to buy an adapter or cord that will plug into the cd changer jack and provide two rca jacks at the other end. how much for an adapter like this? also i would have to purchase this...http://www.clubmac.com/clubmac/shop/detail.asp?dpno=660565
to work between the ipod and that special adapter.... correct?

so if indeed i do have this cd changer jack... which now that you mention it sounds like what it is... then i would have to buy an adapter or cord that will plug into the cd changer jack and provide two rca jacks at the other end. how much for an adapter like this? also i would have to purchase this...http://www.clubmac.com/clubmac/shop/detail.asp?dpno=660565
to work between the ipod and that special adapter.... correct?

thanks for the help.

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The adapter that I bought was about $20. And yes, you will need some way of converting the RCA plugs into a 1/8" miniplug to hook up the the iPod. The cord you linked would work great. I used an entra long cord so that I could hand the iPod into the back seat to let anyone sitting back there play DJ.

Originally posted by aphexist The adapter that I bought was about $20. And yes, you will need some way of converting the RCA plugs into a 1/8" miniplug to hook up the the iPod. The cord you linked would work great. I used an entra long cord so that I could hand the iPod into the back seat to let anyone sitting back there play DJ.

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okay. i checked the back of my alpine reciever and it has options for 3 more plug in devices that are unused ...or what not. two options are of rca in (female) jacks (two cords with two jacks on each cord) .... one says "front out" the other says "rear out". then the other option is i beleive the cd changer jack that you are talking about but im not sure. it is one cord one jack (female). im not sure what one calls that female part specifically... is it a like a 5 pin, 6 pin or what? anyways... im just checking with you on what exact kind of plugs i would need to hook up my iPod. apologies for my inadequacies on the exact terminolgy of the jacks that are in discussion.

also... once i get this all set up how would i then be able to switch from iPod music to the music on my cd player or tuner etc.? would it be the aux option on the reciever? or is it something else?

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